Friday, December 18, 2009

Family Time

Well i'm a good beat behind, but I wanted to post about my parents fun visit and our trip to NYC and Conn. to see some family. One of the high lights of the trip was finally getting around to seeing the Newseum. It's so typical that I only get out to do these fun things when people come to see us! It's now probably one of my top two favorite museums in DC - Truthfully. They have real pieces of the Berlin Wall, a whole section on 9-11 and so many educational exhibits that remind us how important a role the media has played in US history. I don't always love the media, but this museum really shows the good side of things.
We just had so much fun with my parents. At this point, I only get to see them about 2 times each year, so it's always a special time. Aaron and I are constantly thanking the Lord for our incredible families. We feel so blessed.
We drove up last weekend to Connecticut to see my uncle, Nonz and the kids. Unfortunately, my aunt Tina wasn't in town, so we missed her! It was such a sweet time for my mom to reconnect with her brother since the last time we were all together was at our wedding! Distance sure helps keep things in perspective. It isn't easy being so far away, but it helps us to never take our time together for granted. The kids performed on their violins for us, they took us to see where they go to school and then we went out for ice cream which is always a crowd pleaser! Too bad I just officially found out that i'm allergic to Dairy...and eggs! UGH. What will I do?!?
Anyway, it was very, very cold up north so we didn't stay out as long the day after spending a freezing Friday in the city, but we did get out to catch the incredible sunset on the Long Island Sound. My uncle lives just up the street from a park where you can look out over to the city. It was breath-taking and we had to take some pictures!
It was such a fun experience to see New York City at Christmas time...something Aaron and I have not had a chance to do until now. It really is beautiful! The department stores have the prettiest window displays and I thought I was dreaming when I discovered that the Macys in the city is EIGHT FLOORS. Yes, it's true. Can we say OVERWHELMING?!? Then, that night we went to see The Lion King on Broadway. I'd heard people say it was incredible, but I'm pretty positive there aren't any words to describe it! It amazes me just how creative we can be. Broadway talent never disappoints!
Here are a few pictures that capture our fun time together!
The beautiful Long Island Sound

The fam - Minus Dad and aunt T

One of my favorite Christmas windows at Lord and Taylor

Such an INCREDIBLE show!

Mom and Dad (or GiGi and Oompa...according to Addie!)

This guy proposed to his lovely girlfriend while skating at Rockefeller Center. Hundreds of us got to watch! Super cute!

Friday, December 4, 2009

Simple Pillow Fix



I've had a decorative pillow that I use for our bed, but I was getting a bit tired of the same boring pattern. I found fabric that I LOVE and decided my pillow needed some sprucing up. Even better, the fabric was only $6.99 per yard and when I walked up to the counter to have it cut, we discovered that it was almost to the end of the spool. The woman at the counter offered me the rest at 50% off. Woohoo!! Gotta love it! I don't plan to decorate our entire place with this fabric (ha!), but I love it so much that I'm thinking of other creative ways to use it. Right now, I'm working on a little shoulder bag with a different fabric. If I like how it turns out, I may use the leftovers for that.

I enlisted Aaron's help for the button in the middle (he squeezed it down for me as I threaded). I found this little vintage thing at a shop in Arlington and it was just what I was looking for. It ran about $3.

The best thing about this pillow project is that it only took me about 30 minutes. I just re-covered the pillow I already had. It was easy to measure the fabric and you avoid the mess of pillow stuffing. Plus, I can always just remove this new fabric and re-cover it again in the future. Lovin' the easy fixes!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

The Day Ahead

If any of you think about it, please pray for me today. It's just going to be a an extra challenging day at work, but I know God is in control.

I just listened to these words from a new song by Casting Crowns called "To Know You." If you haven't heard this album, go listen to it!

"To know you, is to know the pain of the broken-hearted, 'cause they can't live without you."

And neither can I!